Suspect in La Cantera muggings nabbed

By Ana Ley :
November 20, 2012
: Updated: November 20, 2012 9:48am

A UTSA student admitted committing two robberies in the past month at The Shops at La Cantera, including one in which he pointed a BB gun at a child, police said.

The first robbery occurred Oct. 19, when a mall employee said a man punched her in the face while she was outside on a smoke break. He continued punching her until she fell to the ground and let go of her cellphone, she told police.

Two weeks later, a man carrying a BB gun robbed a man at the mall as he sat on a bench with a young child, making off with his cellphone and iPad, police said.

Surveillance footage led police to Joshua Wells, 20, a UTSA student who'd been named a suspect in a theft case at the campus.

Police said Wells confessed to the crimes Monday. He was charged with two counts of robbery, a second-degree felony. Bail was set at $80,000.